Soul Bonded
by onceuponastories
Summary: What if the night that the dementors attacked it wasn't Mundungus Fletcher on duty? What if it was Minerva McGonagall? How would the nights events have gone differently, and how would it have changed the rest of Harry's life? Find out all of that, and so much more in Soul Bonded!
1. Chapter 1-Dementors in Little Whinging

**Hey my Lovelies! So this is a new story that I literally woke up in the middle of the night to outline. It just wouldn't leave me alone! This story starts the summer before Harry's fifth year, and my outline goes through the Battle of Hogwarts, so I'm signing up for the long haul on this one. There will be both canon and non-canon to this tale, so anything you recognize is the property of J.K. Rowling, but anything new is all mine! Enjoy and let me know what you all think!**

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Chapter 1 – Dementors in Little Whinging

She watched him as he made his way down the street. He walked slowly, but purposefully, as if he weren't quite sure where he was going. He meandered up one street and down an alley connecting it to another. She watched from the shadows as he sat alone in the deserted park. Harry Potter should not have been left alone, of that she was certain. She took more rounds on guard duty than anyone else, because she was positive that the boy needed more care than what Dumbledore had provided for him.

She shook her head as she watched a group of boys make their way through the park. They were talking amongst themselves and they didn't even notice when Harry quietly disappeared into the shadows right in front of them. When the group disbanded he joined one of the boys and together they headed back the way Harry had come.

As they passed the shadows where she crept, watching for a sign of anything strange or peculiar, her tail twitched, and her eyes narrowed. This wasn't just any boy, this was Harry's cousin, and what a terrible person he was. She shook her entire body when she stood to follow them. They had turned a corner into the little alley just as she finished stretching out.

Suddenly the air all around her turned cold, it felt as if all the happiness was being drained from the world. She took off at a run, trying to reach Harry before it did. She flew around the corner and up the alley, shifting mid step to put herself in front of her charge. She threw up a partial patronus between them and the dementor before turning to look at Harry.

"Mr. Potter, are you alright?" She was checking him over carefully, he seemed to be in good enough shape that a couple spells and some chocolate would fix him right up.

When he nodded shakily to her she turned back around to face the creature that was battling through her weak patronus shield. Another wave of her wand and this time a sleek, silver cat with rectangular markings round its eyes came darting out of the end of it. Harry watched amazed as the tiny feline scratched and fought at the dementor until it fled.

McGonagall turned on her heel as soon as the creature was gone and started to speak, but Harry interrupted her. "Professor, I don't mean to be rude, but what are you doing here?"

She looked down her nose at him, but her eyes were softer than normal, "I am on guard duty Mr. Potter. You didn't honestly believe we were leaving you here unprotected did you?" She took Harry's lack of response as affirmation that that was indeed what he had been thinking. "Potter, Professor Dumbledore is a lot of things, but stupid isn't one of them." She fixed her lecturing gaze on him and he nodded.

Her attention shifted to Dudley, who was cowering against the brick wall of the alley. "First time exposed to dementors I'm afraid. Everyone reacts differently." She shot a slight smirk Harry's direction, "Though he's doing better than you. I seem to recall Mr. Lupin telling me you fainted."

"Ah." His ears turned slightly pink and he was thankful for the dimmed light of the alley. "Yeah, I did." He returned her smirk with one of his own cocky grins, "I got better though."

"I can see that." A rare smile turned up the corners of her mouth. "Come on," she made her way to Dudley and Harry helped her pull him to his feet, "we better get the two of you home."

They hadn't made it five steps down the alley when the sense of cold and dread washed over her again. A second dementor came sweeping towards them, headed straight for Harry. She watched him freeze, barely able to hold himself upright, let alone support his massive cousin. She allowed the muggle boy to lower to the ground and then she looked back up at Harry. He hadn't taken out his wand he wasn't fighting back.

She did the only thing she could think of in that moment. It didn't occur to her to cast a shield charm, or to evoke another patronus. Instead she jumped between them, she put herself between the dementor and Harry, letting the full brunt of the feelings it caused wash over her instead. Distantly she heard Harry move behind her, but all she could focus on were the images in her mind.

The images of her parents, of her brothers, dying in the war with Grindlewald. The death of her husband. The memories of feeling lost and alone, that she would never be happy again. She tried to lift her wand more than once, to defend against this horrible creature, but she couldn't muster the strength. She couldn't fix long enough on a single memory that was happy enough to cast the patronus.

Suddenly, as if someone had turned a faucet of steaming water on, the world seemed warmer. The feelings, the memories of happiness returned and she opened her eyes. A radiant, silver stag was standing in front of her, she reached out one shaking hand to pat its head. Thankful for the strength it seemed to share with her.

Realization swept over her and she spun around to look for the stag's caster. "Potter! That was a foolish thing to do you shouldn't have used magic! You should have taken your cousin and run for the safety of your house."

"But you were screaming, you were hurting, and I couldn't leave you here to fend for yourself! You would never have survived that! Besides you jumped in front of that thing to save me, I had to try." His voice lowered as he spoke, and she would have sworn she saw a glint of a tear in the boy's eye.

"Harry," his eyes shot up to meet hers, she never used his first name, "Thank you. You didn't have to do that."

"Yes I did. What you did, jumping in front of me, I couldn't save the last person who did that. I could save you."

There were tears pricking the back of Minerva's eyes now as she looked at the young man standing in front of her. She had a feeling she knew exactly what Harry relived each time there was a dementor attack. She gave him a gentle nod, but didn't trust her voice. Instead she moved back to Dudley, both witch and wizard were shaky on their feet, but they managed to hoist the boy up and propel him forwards again.

By the time the little group had made it back to Privet Drive both Harry and Minerva were weak and unsteady. The attack from the dementors had taken more out of the two of them than they had originally thought.

When Petunia pulled the front door open she was surprised to see that the boys were not alone, and that all three of them looked worse for the wear. "What is going on here? Who are you?" The questions were directed towards McGonagall, and Harry decided that even weak and shaky she could hold her own against Aunt Petunia.

"My name is Minerva McGonagall. I am Harry's deputy headmistress and a member of the Order of the Phoenix. An organization that has taken on Harry's protection." She looked up when Uncle Vernon joined them in the living room, and nodded to acknowledge his presence but continued to speak to Petunia.

"There was a dementor attack. All three of us were attacked, Harry and myself directly, and your son only felt some of the effects."

"What the ruddy hell are dementors?" Uncle Vernon was looking back and forth between the two, ghostly white, boys and the two women.

To both Harry and Minerva's surprise it was Aunt Petunia that answered him. "They guard the wizard prison, Azkaban." Her eyes went wide when it dawned on her that she had said that out loud.

"Aunt Petunia?" Harry was looking at her as if the entire world as he knew it had just changed.

"I remember that boy telling her about them." She spat the words at him, and he understood instantly where she had learned the information.

Minerva caught Harry's eye and she saw the recognition there. Just as she was about to say something an owl came swooping through the window and dropped a letter in her outstretched hand. She read it with a small smile and then passed it to Harry, who also visibly relaxed at what it said.

The Ministry was admonishing Minerva for using magic in front of a muggle; they didn't seem to be aware that Harry had cast the same spell minutes later. He wasn't going to be punished for saving her soul, and they weren't doing anything besides verbally chastising her for saving his.

McGonagall moved away from Aunt Petunia towards the boys. She waved her wand over Dudley and some of his color seemed to come back. "Give him chocolate, it'll help with everything." She took Aunt Petunia's nod in and turned to face Harry. "You are coming with me, go and collect your things."

Harry nodded and, moving slowly, headed up the stairs to collect everything he owned. When he returned Dudley was eating a piece of chocolate cake and Uncle Vernon looked like he wanted nothing more than to kill the owl that was now sitting on McGonagall's shoulder. "Hedwig!" Harry reached out one, still shaky, hand and petted his bird. "When did she get here?"

"While you were upstairs. She brought this." She handed him a slip of paper that read, in familiar, loopy handwriting, "The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is located at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, London."

He read it over and looked up at her, but she shook her head. "It will make sense when we get there, are you ready to go?" He nodded and with a brief goodbye to the Dursleys the pair leaned on each other for support as they made their way to the sidewalk. "Have you ever been apparated before Harry?"

"No." He looked even more ill at the thought.

"That's alright, I must ask that you try not to vomit on me when we arrive. I'm afraid that would end rather badly for us both." He nodded and she offered him her arm, which he took without question. There was a slight squeezing sensation all around his body and then as soon as it started it stopped. They were standing on a quiet street in London in front of a townhouse labeled Number 12.

Harry was a bit wobbly on his feet, but he had successfully avoided vomiting. "Who lives here?"

"Ah, I thought you might ask." She smiled at him as they made their way together towards the door. "This is the Black family home."

"Sirius!" His eyes lit up at the thought of seeing his godfather again.

"Yes, but I'm afraid everyone is usually in bed by this hour. We should head to the library, we will see everyone in the morning." She led him through the door and up the stairs to the library. "Here now, let me see you." She stopped and turned to face him. Waving her wand over him she fixed the majority of the damage that the night had caused, before doing the same thing to her self.

"Thank you." He checked himself over as she moved to the fire and took a box off of the mantle.

"Here," she opened the box and extended it towards him. To his surprise it was filled with chocolate. "Eat. It'll help."

"You sound like Lupin." He grinned at her as she sat on the sofa in front of him.

"On the contrary Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin sounds like me." Her cat-like green eyes glinted in the firelight and Harry didn't know why he did it, but he leaned in and kissed her.

Her breath caught in her throat, but before she could pull away from him he had jerked back and retreated to the other sofa. "Harry…" She tried to speak, but he cut her off.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me, I just meant to say thank you, and," he paused and stared at her across the dimly lit room, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay Harry. Get some sleep." She waved her wand towards the couch he was sitting on and blankets and pillows appeared for him.

"Good night." He met her eyes one more time before he lay down and let sleep over take him.


	2. Chapter 2-Breakfast at Number 12

**Hey Lovelies! So I wasn't originally going to post this today, but then I decided that since it is October 4th and Minerva McGonagall's birthday, it is worth putting this up a day earlier than expected. I hope you enjoy it! Let me know what you think!**

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Chapter 2 – Breakfast at Number 12

The summer sun cut through the moth-ridden curtains the next morning as Harry woke up on the couch. For a moment he didn't know where he was, he sat up and stretched out, his body aching with the strain caused by the dementor attack. The dementor attack! Harry's eyes shot open and he looked around the room. Number 12 Grimmauld Place, that's what the note had said.

He looked around the dusty library and his eyes fell on the blanket-covered person lying on the couch opposite him. Memories of the previous night came flooding back in as he looked across at her sleeping form. He had kissed his professor! And not just any professor he had kissed Minerva McGonagall!

Harry shook his head slowly side to side as he stared at her. She looked different with her hair loose and her teaching robes discarded. As he watched her she began to wake up and Harry took it upon himself to look busy folding the blankets he had used.

"Good morning Mr. Potter." Her voice sounded from behind him and he turned to look at her. She was standing there in a black dress that she must have had on under her robes, her hair loose around her shoulders.

"Good morning Professor." He couldn't help but stare at her she looked different than he had seen her before. She looked, younger? He shook his head a little as she reached back to pull her hair into its normal, tightly wound bun. She definitely looked different.

"How are you feeling this morning Harry, I know that the attacks can take a lot out of you?" There was a friendly concern in her eyes as she spoke to him, carefully looking him over for any injuries she may have missed the night before.

"I'm alright." He gave her a weak smile as he tried to subtly check and see if she had managed to heal all of her own wounds as well. "How are you feeling? You took a more direct hit than I did."

"I'm fine. I've felt better, but it's nothing a little rest and chocolate can't fix." She took a step forward and her breath hitched as she grabbed her ribs. Harry reached across the space between them to steady her.

"Professor, I think there is something wrong." Concern clouded his features as he guided her back to the couch.

"No, there's not. It's an old injury; it flares up from time to time. It's nothing to worry about. I'm sure it will be better in a minute." She took a few deep breaths before attempting to stand up again.

When she did she turned over her shoulder and gave him a rare smile. Somehow it didn't seem as out of place mixed with her features now as it had before. Harry studied her for a moment. "Professor?"

"Yes?" She turned to look at him.

"Is there something different about you this morning?"

"Excuse me?" She looked shocked at his abrupt manners. "What kind of question is that?"

"I'm sorry Professor, it's just that I've never seen you like this before." He pointed to the mirror over her shoulder. "Take a look."

She turned around and found the mirror that he was pointing at. He saw in the reflection as her eyes widened at what she was seeing. The lines on her face had lessened, and the skin around her eyes had tightened somewhat. There were fewer grey streaks in her hair and her cool green eyes had taken on warmth, turning them almost to emeralds. She looked closer to thirty-five than she did to fifty-five. "What happened?"

"I take it you don't always wake up looking like that then?" There was a sarcastic note in his voice and she spun on the spot to face him. Turning her head first to one side and then the other she smiled.

"No, I do not, however there is a simple fix for that." She waved her wand once and the air around her shifted and changed, when it stopped the woman standing before him once again resembled the teacher he knew so well.

"What did you do?"

"It's a simple glamor spell. It hides the changes in my appearance so no one will be the wiser until I figure out why my features have reverted back at least twenty years. I suggest you look closely at yourself though Mr. Potter. It seems that you have changed a bit over night as well."

He stepped in front of the mirror and discovered that she was right. He had changed over night as well. He seemed to have grown a bit, now almost matching the witch in height, whereas yesterday she had been taller than he. Some of the muscles in his chest and arms had filled out; he didn't look as lanky and malnourished as he had the day before.

"I think a growth spurt and exercise will be able to explain the changes Mr. Potter. As for what really caused them." She paused and turned to look at him as she collected her robes from where she had laid them over a chair the night previously. "I have no idea."

She opened the door to the hall and led him down the stairs towards the main hall of the house. When they had both agreed that they were presentable McGonagall pushed the kitchen door open and at once the room hushed. There was a sudden scraping of chairs on the stone floor and all at once Harry found himself engulfed in the arms of his friends and his godfather.

Minerva smiled warmly at the sight of Harry being welcomed, and turned to the table. Molly was watching the scene at the door, but quickly turned her attention to the woman in front of her. "Professor, we didn't know that you and Harry were here. When did you get in? Just now?"

"No." She shook her head as she reached for a piece of toast. "We arrived last night, after everyone had gone to bed. There was an attack and I thought it best to bring Harry here for the remainder of the summer. At least this way we know he will be safe."

"An attack?" Sirius turned over his shoulder to look at his former Head of House. "What kind of an attack? Are the two of you alright?"

"We're fine Sirius, the professor patched me up when we got here, and other than a scrape on my knee that she missed because of my jeans I'm fine." He smirked at Minerva's outraged scoff.

"Let me see your knee then Mr. Potter." She stood from the table and made her way over to where he was still standing by the door. "Why didn't you say anything last night, or this morning when I checked you over again?" She was huffing around at his knee level when she looked up to meet his amused eyes with her angry ones. "There is nothing the matter with either one of your knees. You think this is funny."

She snorted air through her nose as she stood up. When she did her breath caught and Harry grabbed her elbows as her hand flew to the same spot on her ribs. "Sirius!" Harry barked over his shoulder. "Get a healer here now. I don't care who it is as long as it is someone we trust."

Without asking any questions Sirius moved to the fireplace as Harry lowered Minerva into the closest chair. "This is not some old injury that is flaring up. What happened last night?"

"Nothing." She looked intently into his eyes and he knew, somehow, he knew what had happened. It was almost as if he were watching the scene play out through her eyes. He was watching himself, earlier yesterday, when all of a sudden he felt the pain in his own rib cage.

"Nothing my ass." He glared back at her as he winced, suddenly feeling everything that she was feeling.

"Harry!" Hermione was shocked at his language, and in front of Professor McGonagall and Mrs. Weasley! The girl found herself blushing. "That was entirely inappropriate!"

"I don't care Hermione." He looked over his shoulder at her and then around at the Weasley's who were milling about. "Can we get the room please?"

"Mate?" Ron looked concerned but Harry brushed him off.

"Please everyone, the room?" Slowly they nodded and the Weasley's all shuffled out of the kitchen, Ron and Hermione were the last ones left when Sirius pulled his head back out of the fireplace and out stepped Madam Pomfrey. "You two can go as well. Sirius, will you help them out please?"

The older wizard had no idea what was going on, but he guided the two newly appointed prefects out of the kitchen. When they had gone and the door was shut behind them Harry turned back to Minerva. "What happened?"

"You saw what happened." She snapped back at him.

"No I felt what happened! You got hit by a car and didn't think that was worth mentioning!" He wasn't sure why he was so angry with her, but she didn't seem to be in much of a condition to fight back.

"No I didn't. I had bigger things to worry about last night Mr. Potter, and making sure you weren't kissed by the dementors was one of them!"

"So you thought that hours after getting hit by a car you would just willingly jump in front of a dementor to help me?" They were both yelling by now and the majority of the house could hear them.

"Yes I did, and it's a good thing I was there! What if I hadn't been then where would we be now?" She spat back.

"Probably not sitting here with your ribs busted in three places." Madam Pomfrey had been magically checking her over as the two had been arguing. "Hold still, I'm going to mend them and then we are going to have to wrap them. Harry will you please go ask Sirius or Mrs. Weasley for an extra bed sheet?"

Harry didn't take his gaze from McGonagall's until the witch nodded. "Go on. We have plenty of time to figure all of this out, I'm going to need that sheet." He nodded to her and without another word he shot out of the kitchen and up to the library to find Sirius.

When he was gone Madam Pomfrey turned to Minerva. "What was that all about? Why are the two of you screaming at each other? You would normally never let a student talk to you like that."

"I know, I'm not entirely sure what's going on, all I know for sure is this."

She dropped her glamor and Poppy gasped. "Minerva? What on earth? You look twenty years younger."

"I woke up like this this morning. I decided to glamor myself so that no one asks any questions."

"Who all knows about this?" The mediwitch looked concerned for her friend. Magically de-aging twenty years in one night was no little thing. Even for a witch as powerful as Minerva McGonagall.

"Just you and Mr. Potter. He was the one that noticed it this morning, and I'm glad he did. Who knows what would have happened had I walked into breakfast looking like this?"

"Sirius wouldn't have stopped gawking at you and Ron and the twins probably would have fainted." Harry's sarcastic comment floated their way from the door. "Here you go." He held out the sheet to Madam Pomfrey and she used it to bind Minerva's ribs.

"How does that feel?"

"Better." Both Harry and Minerva answered at the same time and Poppy looked back and forth between them.

"You both can feel that?" The pair locked eyes over the top of her head and nodded. "Oh dear." She sighed as she sat back on her heels and her gaze locked on the tiny silver band on Minerva's hand. Her blue eyes shot up to meet her friend's emerald ones, a look of awe reflected in them. "What have you done?"


	3. Chapter 3-So Many Questions

**Hey Lovelies! So this is Chapter 3 of Soul Bonded, and like so many of you our wonderful characters are full of so many questions. Let's hope that somebody can find some answers soon. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 3 – So Many Questions

Two sets of emerald eyes locked over the mediwitch's head. "Poppy?" Minerva didn't look away from the young man standing in front of her, as she questioned her friend. "What are you talking about?"

"This." Gently she lifted Minerva's left hand and showed the pair the silvery-blue ring that was resting there. It didn't look like any metal Harry had ever seen. It looked liquid, as if it were constantly moving and changing.

Minerva's eyes were wide as she peered down at her hand. "Where did it come from? I didn't put it there."

"I figured as much." Poppy sighed as Minerva tried to pull the ring off. It spun around her finger loosely but wouldn't allow itself to be removed. She reached out and put a hand on her friend's arm. "Minerva stop. I have a feeling you aren't going to just be able to pull it off. There is something innately magical about it. Something I have never seen before."

"Do you know what it is?" Harry looked back and forth between the two witches with wide eyes. "Is it dangerous?"

"I'm afraid I can't say for certain what it is, but I'd wager it's no more dangerous than you are Mr. Potter."

"What does that mean?" Minerva helped her friend to her feet, "Poppy? No more dangerous than Harry?"

"It seems to me that the ring is keyed in to Mr. Potter's magic. There is something about it that is connected just as much to him as this is to you." She shook her head when they both started to speak. "What ever questions the two of you have, and I'm sure that there are a lot of them, I don't have the answers. Not yet anyway." She looked back and forth between them. "For now I suggest that neither one of you mention this to anyone else. Not until we know what's going on."

They both nodded as she made her way back to the fireplace. "I'll start researching and seeing what I can come up with. In the meantime be careful."

"Thank you Poppy." Minerva called out, just as the green flames engulfed the mediwitch.

"Professor," Harry started but she cut him off.

"Harry I think that when it's just the two of us you may call me Minerva. It seems we have more in common than just professor and student now." She lifted her hand to indicate her point.

"It would seem so. If I may?" He reached for her hand and lifted it to see the band there. "At least it's pretty, if it won't come off."

"True." Gently she took her hand back and moved around him towards the door. "We should invite everyone back in to breakfast, I didn't mean to cause such a fuss."

"We caused a fuss." He followed her towards the doorway, and she chuckled.

"Yes, we did."

"Minerva?" She had just about stepped into the hallway when she heard her name come uneasily from his lips.

"Yes Harry?"

"Might I suggest another glamor spell?" He nodded towards the ornate mirror that hung across from the kitchen.

She turned over her shoulder and caught sight of herself in the glass. She had dropped her glamor in front of Poppy and now she looked thirty-five years old again. "Thank you." She cast the spell over herself and turned to look at him. "Do I look old again?"

"No." She raised an eyebrow at him. "If you live to be two hundred you still won't be old. You will simply be dignified and wise." He took her hand and with a very gentlemanly bow, he kissed the back of it.

"Harry…"

"Oi?" Ron's voice cut her off, and they looked up to see the rest of the house's occupants filing out onto the first landing. "Can we come back to the kitchen now mate? I'm bloody starving."

Harry and Minerva both laughed, and he released her hand as she called them all back for breakfast. Sirius caught ahold of Harry's arm as he made to follow everyone else into the kitchen. "Listen Pup, I didn't ask any questions before because it was obvious that she was hurt, but I'm asking now, what's going on?"

Harry looked at his godfather very seriously for a moment, he didn't really want to lie to him, but he had to think of what was best for both of them in this situation, not just himself. "A lot Sirius. A lot is going on, and right now that's the only answer I can give you."

Grey eyes bore into green, but the older wizard didn't press the matter any further. He allowed Harry to remove his arm from his grasp and followed his godson into the kitchen. He watched them both, Harry and Minerva, as they all finished breakfast. At the front nothing seemed different about them, they were respectful of each other, and considerate, but no more so than student and professor should have been.

There was something underneath all of that though. It may have been the glimmer of magic he noticed around Minerva when she moved quickly to reach for the overturned pot of coffee. Or the way that their breath hitched at the same time when Harry leaned down to collect a fallen napkin. He wasn't for certain, but something was going on between the young man and the deputy headmistress.

After breakfast was finally concluded and cleaned up, and Harry was settled into the room on the third floor that he was sharing with Ronald Minerva decided to head back to Hogwarts. She needed to talk to Albus about what had happened with the dementors last night, and more importantly she needed to talk to Poppy about what was happening between her and Harry.

She knocked once on the door to the boys room and she heard him call out, "Come in." She pushed the door open to find him lying on the bed staring at the ceiling. He looked up when he felt her come to a stop next to him. "Profe-Minerva, I didn't know you were still here."

"Yes, I came up to tell you I was leaving. I thought it was only polite with our newfound, connection." Both sets of eyes drifted to the tiny band on her left hand. "I just wanted you to know that I was going to check in with Poppy and see if she has found anything. I will keep you informed of everything that turns up."

"Thank you." He nodded as she turned towards the door to leave. "Minerva?"

"Yes?" She looked back around at him, it seemed he was finding it easier and easier to call her by her name, and to her surprise she didn't seem to mind.

"Try to avoid anymore accidents…" His smirk caused her to roll her eyes and she almost bumped into Ronald on her way to the door.

"I'm sure you'd be the first to know. Goodbye Mr. Potter."

"See you at Hogwarts Professor." With a swish of her cloak around the door jam she was gone.

Ron stared after her for a moment, and then he rounded on Harry. "What happened last night mate? You show up here after everyone else is asleep and we wake up this morning to find you and McGonagall have been attacked by dementors in the middle of your muggle neighborhood? Then you won't give us any details. Harry, come on, what's going on?"

He was about to answer him when the sound of the floorboards creaking in the hall stopped him short. Hermione and Ginny came rushing into the room and shut the door quickly behind them. "Mum thinks that we need to de-infest the library, we need to find something else to do quickly."

Hermione looked back and forth between them as Ginny spoke. "Were you two talking about something important?"

"Harry was going to tell me what actually happened last night."

"No I wasn't." He glared across at Ron with a look of annoyance. "I never got a chance to say anything before these two showed up." He pointed at the girls. "Anyway, you know what happened. There were some dementors in Little Whinging last night, they attacked me and Dudley and Min-McGonagall saved us. That's all there is to it." He barely caught himself before he called her Minerva, and luckily he didn't think that any of them had caught his mistake.

"All there is to it? Harry you can't be serious, there is so much more to it than that!" Hermione was anxious, "Harry do you have any idea who controls the dementors?"

"No." Ho shook his head and simply stared at her, did she even need to ask?

"The Ministry! The Ministry is supposed to have control of the dementors, and if there were dementors attacking you in a muggle neighborhood last night that only leaves two options!" She paused, but the other three didn't say anything so she continued on. "That leaves us with the fact that the Ministry could have ordered a hit on you, which is highly unlikely, or the fact that the dementors are no longer working exclusively for the Ministry!"

"And if they aren't working for the Ministry they are working for him." Harry sighed, what Hermione was saying was making sense. He didn't need any more added to his plate at the moment, but that didn't seem to be stopping it from coming. "Wonderful…" He flopped back on his bed, his hand moving quickly to his ribs as a sharp pain coursed through his side, "Just wonderful…"

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The fireplace in Albus's office turned green and out of the flames stepped Minerva McGonagall. He smiled at her once she had righted herself, "I take it Harry is all settled at Sirius's then?"

"Yes." She replied with a curt nod. "What happened Albus? Why were there dementors in Little Whinging at all?"

"I'm afraid I don't have an answer for you my dear. The Ministry claims that there were no dementors in the area at all, and that they have complete control over them."

"Albus you and I both know how ridiculous that sounds. You can't have complete control over something like a dementor, they are far too unpredictable for that." She paused and looked across the room at him, "He sent them didn't he?"

"Most likely yes." He nodded solemnly before changing the subject. "Poppy said that you were injured last night. Are you alright?"

"My ribs are broken in three places, and I was attacked by a dementor, I have certainly felt better, but she is doing her best to patch me up. More importantly, Mr. Potter walked away unharmed." She caught herself before calling him Harry, she rarely had in front of Albus and she wasn't going to change things now. "She's actually expecting me, and now that I'm back in the castle I'm sure she will hunt me down any minute." She smiled at him and nodded towards the door. "If I may?"

"Of course my dear, do be careful." The twinkling light in his eyes seemed to dance as he watched her roll her eyes at him before heading out of his office.

When she reached the hospital wing she called out for her friend and she received a reply from the direction of the mediwitch's office. "What are you doing in here?" There were books everywhere when she entered the already tiny space. "This office is minute anyway, and now you have over flowed it with books."

She picked up one of the ones closest to her and read the title, "Books about spirits and souls?" She picked up the next one in the stack, "Protection charms," she kept going as she crossed the office to her friend, "Poppy what is this all about?"

"I think I know what happened last night." The tone that she was using caused Minerva not to feel quite as relieved as she had expected to be when she finally heard those words.

"Well? What was it?" Her green eyes peered at her friend, but Poppy shook her head.

"I want to mend your ribs again before I tell you. They are a situation that is more easily handled." She led the dark haired witch to one of the beds closest to her office and drew the curtains around them. She ordered her to undress while she went and fetched proper bandages instead of the sheet they had made do with earlier.

When she returned she repaired the ribs more fully and rebound the injury. She hissed out her breath as Poppy worked on her and she hoped that Harry wasn't feeling the same things that she was. "Poppy?" She pulled her friend's attention back to the other matter at hand.

"What have you found out about what is going on with this?" She lifted her hand just barely off the bed.

The mediwitch's pale blue eyes held a look that Minerva couldn't quite place as she gathered her thoughts. "I believe it is called a Soul Bond." She held up a hand before Minerva could interrupt her. "I don't know much about it yet, but I do know that the last time anyone remembers one occurring was over three hundred years ago…"


	4. Chapter 4-Soul Bond

**Hey Lovelies! So here is the next chapter of Soul Bonded, and I hope that it answers some of your questions about the bond itself. I only want them to find out so much at a time, and I hope that you get a sense of how this works. Just know that the characters are just as much in the dark as you are and they are living it! Enjoy and Happy Reading!**

* * *

Chapter 4 – Soul Bond

"Three hundred years ago?" Minerva's voice shot up an octave higher than normal.

"Yes," Poppy nodded and gestured for her to redress as she collected the things she had used to help heal her. "I fixed your ribs almost completely, one more mend before bed tonight should do you in."

"Thank you." Her reply was cut short when the mediwtich walked away from her, retreating back into her tiny office space. Minerva was not deterred however. She followed Poppy into the cramped room. "What happened three hundred years ago?"

"See that's the thing. There is only one account of the fact, and it wasn't written by either party involved, so I'm not entirely sure how accurate it is going to be."

"Poppy…" She didn't want to beg, but she was getting desperate, she had awoken this morning twenty years younger, across the room from a boy that had also changed, and there was a new ring on her hand that she hadn't put there, she needed some answers.

"I don't have answers yet Minerva, I don't want to tell you something that winds up not being true. I don't even know if this is the same situation. The pair in the book were already connected on some level."

"What level?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? What do you know?" She snapped at her.

"Plenty Minerva! Just not about something that hasn't happened for three hundred years, and no one alive remembers happening at all!" Her temper was rising, but she knew better than to challenge the Scottish woman when it came to a battle of the tempers. "Right now all I can tell you that it is a Soul Bond, that you and Mr. Potter are magically linked together, and from what I can tell there is no counter spell."

"Counter spell? It was a spell to start with?" There was a note of curiosity in her voice that she couldn't hide.

"Yes, and no. It was a spell similar to the one that Lily placed on Harry that night in Godric's Hollow, in the sense that it was created from Old Magic. Whatever happened between the two of you last night was enough to evoke an Old Rite of Protection."

"A Rite of Protection?" She looked around the room at all of the books that Poppy had gathered. "Do we know what that does?"

"Again yes, and no. It provides you both with a sense of protection, obviously, but one party bears the roll of protector to the other in a greater sense. In this case I would say that Harry has taken on the protector role."

"What makes you say that?" Minerva almost forgot for a moment that they were discussing herself and Mr. Potter, her natural desire to learn was starting to take over.

"You carry with you a protector that is a piece of him." She nodded towards the silvery-blue ring on Minerva's hand. "That ring serves as a tether for the bond, but it is not made of metal, in fact it is not even solid." She held out the book she was holding to the other woman and she took it.

Minerva read what the text said and then looked back up at her friend, "So the ring is a tangible form of a patronus? It works in the same way?"

"I believe so, since that is the spell that the two of you had in common when the bond took place. It makes sense given that it is a protection spell in and of itself. You saved Harry's soul from the dementors, correct?"

"Yes, I jumped in front of him."

"And then he used a patronus to save you?" Minerva nodded, still reading what the book had to say about Protection Bonds. "Then what happened?"

Minerva's green eyes shot up to meet Poppy's blue ones. "I touched his patronus. It loaned me some of its strength."

"No, Harry loaned you some of his strength." She sighed. Her suspicions had been confirmed, this sounded remotely similar to the account in the volume Minerva was holding. "You two are bound together, at a soul deep level. What that means for your futures I have no idea. And we know that you feel each other's pain, but joy, ecstasy, heartbreak? Who knows what else you will end up sharing?"

Minerva took a deep breath and set the volume down on the cramped desk. "I don't really know what I think at the moment. I am connected soul deep with a student, and not just any student, Harry Potter." She turned to look over her shoulder at Poppy. "Absolutely no one but the three of us is to know of this. Understood?"

"Of course, Albus was asking questions when I arrived back from Sirius's earlier, but I didn't give him any answers, I figured you and Harry could decide what you want to tell people, together."

"We are going to have to work a lot of things out, but it's not as if we are married, we will both continue with our normal lives, and we will have to figure this Magic out as we go. I will make something up for Albus and I will inform Harry of everything that we learned here. I suggest that you banish all of these books back to wherever they came from. Keep only the few you really need for research. I don't want anyone to go digging for something that they need not know."

"Right away." She started collecting the things that she wanted to keep and she looked up one more time as Minerva went to leave the little room. "Minerva?"

"Hmm?" She turned back to look at her friend.

"Be careful." She smirked at her, but the grin didn't reach her eyes. Poppy was concerned for her friend; Old Magic could have many strange consequences.

* * *

Minerva was sitting in her office trying to figure out the best way to communicate with Harry without Albus finding out, when there was a knock at her door. "Come in." She called and she suppressed a groan when it was none other than the one man she was trying to avoid.

"Albus. What can I do for you?" She extended her right hand towards one of the chairs in front of her, careful to allow the left to remain covered by her long robes.

"I seem to be having a hard time finding someone to replace Alastor, no one will take the Defense position because of the curse that is said to be upon it." His voice was calm, but she could see the nerves etched onto his face, there were only two weeks left until the start of term.

"I know about the curse Albus, and you have to admit that there is some merit behind it. When is the last time that someone stayed for more than one year?" She let him ponder for a second and then she answered her own question, "Not since _he_ applied for the job all those years ago. What happens if you can't find someone in time? We can't not have the class, I'm sure Severus,"

"No." He peered at her calmly across her desk, but there was strong emotion in his words. "I can't put Severus in a position that would endanger him being here after that. He stays where he is, where I can keep an eye on him." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "No, the Ministry has threatened to appoint someone to the position if I am unable to fill it myself."

"Who are they going to appoint? Surely they aren't considering taking any of the Aurors out of the field. Any of the ones that would be qualified to teach are in the Order and I would rather have them at the Ministry than here."

"I agree, and no, they intend on putting that Umbridge woman here."

"Dolores Umbridge? The Minister's Undersecretary? Does she know anything about defensive magic at all?" Minvera couldn't see how putting a Ministry official, one that seemed to live in Cornelius's pocket, in Hogwarts was going to cause anything but trouble.

"I'm afraid not, but I'm also afraid that we are not going to have a choice. That we are going to have to allow her to come, no one else will take the job."

"Albus…" She started to speak again but he stood up, abruptly cutting her off.

"No, if you are indeed correct, then she will only be here for one year. I will take that time to try and corral someone more qualified for the next year."

"Albus?" He turned to look over his shoulder at her, "Have you considered why they want to impose on us now?"

He turned fully back around, "What do you mean Minerva?"

"Mr. Potter." She saw him sigh, "What I mean is, they have spent the entire summer telling anyone who will listen that you and Mr. Potter are both off your rocker. That neither one of you are to be trusted and that you have corrupted him into believing your schemes about Voldemort."

He seemed impressed that she had said the name without flinching, and for a moment she didn't realize what she had done. She brushed it off, as he spoke. "I understand, this is Harry's O.W.L. year, I'm sure that a Ministry official breathing down his neck is the last thing he needs, but he has handled worse." Without another word he swept out of her office and down the corridor.

"You have no idea." She mumbled to herself as she shook her left hand and exposed the ring that was shining there. She pulled out a quill and ink and dragged a piece of parchment towards her. She had to tell Harry something she couldn't leave him in the dark for the next two weeks until she saw him again. A letter seemed like the best way.

 _Dear Mr. Potter_ _,_ She struck through the line and started again.

 _Dear,_ That line too was crossed out.

 _Harry,_

* * *

Harry was lying on his bed after spending the afternoon de-infesting the library with everyone else. He was exhausted, for some reason he didn't think that cleaning should have been that much work when you had magic. Hermione and Ginny were helping Mrs. Weasley with dinner and he was pretty sure that Ron was facing off with Lupin in a rematch of some chess game they had played previously. He was grateful for the silence. It had been a mighty long day, and following the events of last night, he just wanted to go to sleep.

He lay looking up at the ceiling when there was a knock on the bedroom door. "It's open."

Sirius came padding in and held out a letter to Harry, "Here Pup, this just came for you."

Harry took the letter and looked at the envelope. He knew her handwriting. "Thanks." He glanced up at Hedwig, who was asleep on her perch, "How did it get here?"

"It came flying through the Floo. I've never seen letters delivered that way, it must have been charmed or something so it could get out at the right grate."

"Yeah," Harry looked down at it, "Or something." He gave a weak smile back to his godfather, "Thanks Sirius." He expected him to leave him alone to read the letter, but when he didn't move Harry raised an eyebrow, "Is there something else?"

"You said this morning that a lot was going on. I know that I'm locked up here, but if I can help you Harry, I will. Just know that you can always come talk to me right?"

"I know." He stuck out his hand to shake the older man's, "Thanks Padfoot."

"Anytime Pup." When he had shut the door behind him Harry looked down at the letter in his hands. She must have found something; he ripped the top of the letter open and pulled out the single sheet that was inside.

 _Dear Mr. Potter,_ He could see where she had scratched that out.

 _Dear,_ He chuckled as this too was scribbled over.

 _Harry,_

 _I am writing to inform you that Madam Pomfrey and myself are investigating the situation that has presented itself since last night. As of now I have very little that I feel comfortable sharing in a letter, I will inform you of everything that we have found when you arrive on the first._

 _If you have any specific questions that I can answer please have them ready then, I don't trust our letters not to be interrupted. Things at Hogwarts may be a little different this year, we have yet to find a new Defense teacher and Dumbledore has just informed me that the Ministry is thinking of sending Dolores Umbridge. If they do I beg of you to be more cautious and careful in your actions._

 _Also, I am pleased to inform you that after this evening Madam Pomfrey believes that my ribs will be fully healed. I'm sure that I will feel much better after that, and I appreciate the concern you have showed for me in the last twenty-four hours._

 _I look forward to seeing you on the first, as I will have more answers for you then._

 _Minerva_

"Harry?" He quickly shoved the letter under his pillow as the door swung open. Ginny appeared around the edge of it. "Mum says dinner is ready if you want to come down."

He swung his legs over the side of the bed, "Sounds perfect." He threw one last glance at his bed, where the letter lay hidden as he followed her out the door and down the stairs. "Just perfect."


	5. Chapter 5-Aftershocks

**Hey Lovelies! Here's chapter 5! Hopefully you will like this one, I sure do! Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 5 – Aftershocks

Harry followed Ginny into the kitchen and joined everyone else around the dinner table. There weren't very many extra Order members around tonight it was just the Weasley's, Lupin, Sirius and Harry. Normally the less people that were around the better Harry felt, but tonight was different.

He could feel Sirius's eyes on him as he picked at his food. He didn't feel much like eating. Honestly, he didn't feel like doing much of anything besides sleeping. There was a nauseous feeling in the pit of his stomach that he couldn't ignore, and an unconscious tugging at the back of his mind telling him he needed to be somewhere else.

He was having a harder and harder time ignoring his discomfort. It had started around lunchtime, he hadn't wanted to eat then either, but had forced himself to have something. That was six hours ago now though, and he was only feeling worse and worse.

"Hey Pup," Sirius looked across the table at him, "what's wrong? Molly's cooking is pretty good, and the girl's aren't dreadful. Here," he loaded Harry's plate with food that the teen knew there was no way he was going to be able to eat.

"Thanks Sirius." He mumbled. He started pushing his potatoes around his plate with his spoon and Sirius sighed.

"Harry, what is the matter? You have been acting oddly since lunch." Grey eyes were scanning over Harry as if they were looking for any lasting damage from the previous nights attacks.

"Nothing. I just don't feel all that well. I think that I'm going to go on up to bed and try and get some sleep. Maybe I'll feel better in the morning." He had just stood from the table to head back upstairs when the fireplace roared to life behind him.

* * *

Minerva fought the urge to skip dinner. She knew that she wasn't going to be able to eat anything, she couldn't remember feeling this awful ever in her life. She took her seat in the Great Hall next to Albus just as the elves sent the food up from the kitchens. She put a few things on her plate, but she hadn't really touched any of them.

"Minerva?"

"Hmm?" She looked over at the Headmaster and he noticed that she seemed a littler paler than normal.

"Are you alright? You don't seem to be eating much my dear?" He nodded towards her practically empty plate. "Are you feeling alright?"

She gave him a small smile and shook her head, "Not particularly. I think it might be better if I go and lay down. I don't believe I would be keeping anything down anyhow." She scooted her chair back from the table drawing Poppy's attention to her.

The mediwitch had been watching her friend since she entered the Hall and she knew that she hadn't eaten anything. If Minerva was leaving now, this was worse than she had thought. She watched as the dark-haired witch stood, a little shaky on her feet, and stepped back around her chair.

Just as Minerva started to sway on her feet Poppy was there. She wrapped an arm around her and offered her the support she needed to stay on her feet. "Come on. Hospital Wing. No arguments." Minerva just nodded and allowed Poppy to guide her out of the room. When Albus started to follow them Poppy shot him a glare over her shoulder. "I can take care of her myself Albus. I'm sure she will be just fine."

The two women made it up the stairs and Minerva was sitting on a bed before her legs gave out on her completely. "How long have you been sick?"

"What?" She looked up at Poppy from where she was leaning down to remove her boots before putting her feet on the bed.

"Minerva you are weak and shaky and the color of a bed sheet! Why didn't you tell me that you were feeling like this? How long have you felt like this?" She was fussing around at the end of the bed, one eye trained on the other witch.

"I don't know. Since around lunchtime I guess. I'm just worn out Poppy, after the attacks and getting hit by a car yesterday I don't think I can take much more. I think I just need to sleep."

"Minerva Isobel McGonagall! Do you honestly think that this has nothing to do with that Bond between you and Harry?" Her eyes went wide for a moment and she rushed off into her office. When she returned she was holding the same book that Minerva had been reading out of earlier that day. "These are all negative symptoms of the Bond! Why didn't you say anything? Why didn't I see it sooner?"

She looked at her friend and then at the doors to the hospital wing. She pulled out her wand and magically barred anyone from entering that way. "Come on. Come with me." She helped Minerva off of the bed and onto the couch in her private rooms. "Stay here."

"I'm not in any shape to go anywhere." She smiled weakly at her friend, but Poppy was not amused.

"This is not a matter to joke about Minerva. I'm serious! I'll be right back." She moved to the fireplace and used her own Floo access to disappear in a whoosh of green.

* * *

Harry turned around as the fireplace lit up. He was surprised to see Madam Pomfrey step out of it, clearly in a hurry. She scanned the faces sitting around the table, and then her eyes locked on Harry. "How do you feel?"

"I'm really tired, I think I'm just going to go to bed."

"No you're not. Come on." There was a look in her eyes that left no room for argument. Suddenly Harry realized what that tugging in the back of his mind was.

His eyes went wide and he saw the mediwitch nod at his reaction. "How do I get there?"

"Hogwarts Infirmary will take you to the right grate." She stepped out of the way as the boy moved towards the fire. With one last look at the dumbstruck faces of those that they were leaving behind she followed Harry through the flames.

When they had gone Mrs. Weasley rounded on Ron, Hermione and Ginny. "What is going on here? Why did Harry just take off like that? And don't tell me you don't know! He tells you all everything!"

"Not this time." Ron wouldn't meet his mother's eyes. "He wouldn't tell me a bloody thing. I have no idea what's going on."

"Neither do we." Hermione looked across at Ginny who was shaking her head at the fireplace. "Harry just said that there was a dementor attack and that McGonagall saved him and Dudley, and we know that she was hurt, but that's it." She turned to look at the fire, "I hope that she's okay, but why would Harry need to go?"

Sirius took a deep breath and without a word he pushed his plate away from him and shoved his chair back. He stood and was out the door and up the stairs before anyone could see where he went. Hermione followed him and found him in the library, pulling a number of dusty, old books off of the shelves.

"Sirius, what are you doing?"

He looked back over his shoulder at her. "Trying to figure out whether or not I saw what I think I saw this morning."

"What did you see?"

He merely shook his head; he wasn't going to answer her until he knew for certain. Situations such as this required extreme caution and discretion.

* * *

As Harry spun out of the Floo Minerva sat up on the couch. She had stopped shaking the moment that the Floo had lit up and she knew on instinct just who was going to come tumbling out of it. "Harry…"

Her voice drew his attention to where she was sitting on the couch and he looked up at her. She looked ill, like something had been plaguing her for weeks. "Minerva?" There was concern in his voice, and they both looked over when Poppy came out of the Floo behind him.

"You already look better." Her focus was on Minerva, as she was obviously the worse off of the two in the situation. "How do you feel?"

"I'm not shaking anymore, so that's a good thing. What is going on though? Why is Harry here?"

"He's the reason that you aren't shaking anymore. Both of you were pale and peaky ten seconds ago and now your color is returning. You are connected more deeply than we thought." She watched with wide eyes, as the two seemed to heal right before her.

"What does that mean?" Harry had gotten up off of the floor where he had landed and had taken a seat not quite touching Minerva on the couch. "More deeply than we thought?"

"Harry," Minerva reached over and put her hand on top of Harry's and the effect was instantaneous. Whatever magic had been slowly returning the two of them to normal rushed in all at once. Both sets of cheeks had their color back and the nausea drained away from both of them. Emeralds met emeralds as they both looked down at their touching hands and then up at each other.

Poppy intervened then. "Harry, we know that the two of you share what's called a Soul Bond. The last time that this has happened, well the last documented time, was over three hundred years ago." He started to interrupt but she held up her hand. "We don't know much about it except that it is an act of Old Magic, like what your mother used to save you that night in Godric's Hollow."

"So that's what happened when I saved you in the alley?" He was looking at Minerva.

"Yes, and no. This is a Rite of Protection. One of you is the protector of the other's soul. Harry, in this case you are Minerva's protector."

"How do we know that?"

"This." Minerva lifted her left hand, where the ring was glowing brightly around her finger. "It's connected to you and I both. Just like we thought. It's a tangible patronus, of sorts. You are my protector, and so I must wear your token."

"So all of this, this getting sick, that's because of the Bond?" He looked back and forth between the two women and Poppy nodded her head.

"Yes. I'm afraid I didn't catch that in the writings earlier, there's nothing in there that says that you can't be apart. Hopefully it's just a temporary thing, but for now it seems that you two are safest when you are together."

"So what are we going to do? If we can't spend time apart without getting sick what do we do about the next two weeks?" He looked over at Minerva, "You have to stay here, you have to help run the school, but I can't stay here, not without everyone knowing."

"I think I have a solution to that. Albus seemed extremely worried about Minerva when she nearly collapsed at dinner."

"You nearly collapsed!" He looked over at her, "Why didn't you say anything to anyone? Is that why I was so exhausted? I was trying to lend you strength that I didn't have?"

"Possibly." Poppy answered for her, "But more importantly, Albus was concerned. I can use his concern as a reason to monitor you both for, "aftershocks of the dementor attack," at least until school starts and you don't need an excuse for being here."

Minerva seemed to think it over, and as much as she didn't want to play on Albus's concerns for her she would allow it this once. This was as much for Harry as it was for her. "Alright. Set it up for Harry to remain here for the rest of the summer. Someone is going to have to go and collect his things. I have a feeling if one of us goes we would both need to go and that would be rather difficult to explain."

"Especially since Sirius won't stop asking questions." Harry mumbled from beside her.

Poppy nodded and moved towards the door. "I'll go talk to Albus about Harry staying too. I'm sure by now he knows he's here. Don't go anywhere."

"We won't." Minerva assured her friend as she left the room.

* * *

Convincing Albus that Harry needed to stay here in the castle was easier than Poppy had thought that it was going to be. When she had said that it was in the best interests of not just one of them, but both of them that she be on hand to monitor them he seemed to understand and take it in stride. He promised to go and collect Harry's things himself and he would see to it that an elf delivered them to the hospital wing.

When she pulled the door to her office open she couldn't help but smile. Harry was sitting propped up in one corner of the couch, his head lolled back and his arm around Minerva's shoulders. The witch was leaned against his chest with his shirt caught tight in her left hand. Both of them were sound asleep.

Poppy backed out of the room quietly, deciding that she could update them on what was going on in the morning. Right now, she would just let them sleep.


	6. Chapter 6-The Arrival of One D Umbridge

**Hey Lovelies! Sorry it's been so long it was midterms week, but I'm all done now. This is the sixth chapter and I promise that after this one it will pick up some. This one just sets up a new friendship/teamwork situation and then we get Umbridge... Who all hates Umbridge? That's a rhetorical question everyone hates Umbridge. Happy Reading!**

* * *

Chapter 6 – The Arrival of One D. Umbridge

Molly, Arthur and Sirius were the only ones left awake when the fireplace in the kitchen of Number Twelve roared to life for the second time that evening. They were surprised when they looked up, to find Albus Dumbledore striding out of it towards them. "Good evening." He greeted them with a kind smile.

"Good evening Professor." Molly smiled back. "Would you like some coffee, or some tea, or something?"

"No thank you Molly dear, I am merely here to collect Harry's things. The decision has been made that he will remain at Hogwarts under Poppy's watch for the rest of the summer."

Sirius froze, his cup halfway to his lips. "You can't be serious?"

Dumbledore turned to the young man, "I am. It seems there were some repercussions of the dementor attack that she wants to monitor more closely." Dumbledore chose the same words that Poppy had given him, and he could tell by looking at Sirius that he didn't really believe them either. "Can you show me where Harry's things are?"

The question was addressed at Sirius, but the man seemed to have become a statue. Arthur stood up from the table, "Harry's things are in Ronald's room. I'll show you the way Headmaster."

"Thank you." He nodded his head in appreciation and followed Arthur out of the room. He spared one last glance at Sirius. The man's grey eyes had seemed to glaze over and he was lost in thought.

Molly watched her husband lead Dumbledore out of the room and then she turned to Sirius. "What is going on here? First Harry is attacked, then he goes running through the fireplace without a single word and the next thing we know Dumbledore is here to collect his things. You don't think he's hurt do you?"

When Sirius didn't respond she tossed the dishtowel that had been resting on her shoulder at him. "Sirius!"

"Huh, hmm, what?" He looked around at her as he came out of his thoughts. "What the hell did you throw this thing at me for?" He picked the towel up and whipped it back at her.

"Because you weren't paying any attention! I asked you if you thought that Harry was alright." She looked at him imploringly and he shrugged.

"I don't know Molly. I really don't know." His mind had been drifting through all of the things that he had observed going on with Harry that day. There was something about him that he couldn't quite get a read on. Something that just wasn't quite right, but he knew better than to say anything. Instead he excused himself from the table and made his way to the library.

When he pushed the door open he wasn't surprised to find the fire was lit in the grate, but he was surprised that he wasn't the only one in here at this hour. "We thought you were asleep." There was a soft smile on his face as he made his way towards her.

She looked up from the book open on her lap. "No. I can't sleep. There is something going on here. Something with Harry and I can't figure it out. Sirius?" Her brown eyes were reflecting warmly in the firelight. "Do you know what's going on?"

He sighed as he came to a stop in front of her. He picked up the book that she had been reading off of her lap and looked at it. "Honestly Hermione, I don't, not yet anyway. But I'm willing to help you look."

She smiled and gestured to the chair across from her own. "Be my guest."

* * *

Harry woke up early the next morning in roughly the same position he had fallen asleep in. He had slid down the couch some, and his head was now resting on the armrest, but that wasn't what he found the most shocking when he gained his bearings. There was a weight on his chest that he wasn't accustomed too.

When he opened his eyes he smiled. Minerva was still asleep, with her head on his chest and his shirt caught in her fingers. Her glamor spell had lost some of its affect overnight and she looked like the thirty-five-year-old version of herself. Her hair had come loose and some of it was caught under Harry's arm, which he realized was wrapped around her shoulders, holding her in place.

He felt her shift and stir on his chest and he tried to relax and steady his heartbeat and breathing. Knowing it was probably him that had woken her up. Slowly her eyes fluttered open and she realized where she was. She sat up quickly, both of them wincing slightly as her not quite healed ribs caught.

"Good morning." He smiled a cocky smile at her and she laughed.

"Good morning. I'm afraid I don't even remember falling asleep last night. I'm sorry if you were uncomfortable."

"Nah, I'm alright." He sat up and stretched out, "In fact I think I slept better than I have all summer." Minerva was looking around the room and he watched her for a minute before he spoke again. "You have turned your head in every possible direction, what are you looking for?"

"I'm not looking for anything." She stopped twitching about and focused on him. "I'm listening, for Poppy. It sounds like she is out in the ward. Come on." She stood up off of the couch and offered him her hand. He took her assistance, and when she tried to pull her hand away he brought it up and brushed a gentle kiss over the back of it.

"Good morning."

"You said that already." She pointed out with a smirk.

"I know, but this time I did it properly." She rolled her eyes and pulled her hand away from him. No one would ever accuse Harry Potter of not inheriting his father's charm.

"Let's go." She was shaking her head as she led the way out of Poppy's office and into the main section of the hospital wing. "Good morning Poppy." She called out when she caught sight of her friend changing the sheets on the bed that she had used the day before.

"Good morning Minerva," she looked over the other witch's shoulder, "Good morning Harry." She couldn't help her smile. "How did the two of you sleep?"

"Fine thanks." He answered her with a smile. "And good morning to you too."

She nodded to him and fixed her eyes on Minerva, "And how did you sleep?"

"Alright." She wouldn't meet Poppy's eyes, and instead turned to Harry. "Why don't you go down to the Great Hall, I'm sure Dumbledore will have a seat for you."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure he doesn't expect you to eat alone."

"I meant about me leaving." He mumbled.

"Oh…" She looked down at her hands for a minute and then up at him, her thumb trailing over the ring on her left hand. She shook her head, "You know what, no. Stay. You are going to feel all of this anyway aren't you?"

He raised his eyebrows and nodded, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips, "Yeah."

* * *

Twenty minutes later the three of them were making their way down to the Great Hall to grab something for breakfast. Poppy had told them that Dumbledore had approved of Harry staying and had gone to collect his things for him last night.

When Minerva stopped off at her rooms to change her clothes they waited in the hall for her. "Madam Pomfrey?"

"Yes Harry?" She turned around to look at him as he and Minerva had been walking behind her.

"Thank you." He was sincere in his tone and she could tell that he really meant it. "For coming to get me last night, when she was sick, if you wouldn't have been taking care of her…"

"She's my best friend Harry. I want to protect her too." He studied the witch for a long moment and then he nodded to her just as Minerva opened the door to her rooms.

She looked back and forth between them, "What's going on out here?"

"Nothing." Harry looked away from Poppy and back to Minerva, "Absolutely nothing. Are you ready?"

"Yeah, come along." She led the little trio off down the corridor towards the Hall. When the doors opened for them they all three could tell that something was different. The rest of the staff wasn't talking and laughing like they normally would have been doing, there was an eerie silence in the grand space.

"What's going on?" Harry whispered.

Both witches shook their heads until Minerva froze mid-movement. She had spotted what was different about the room. The chair the third from the end on the right hand side of the room was no longer empty. In it sat the worst thing that the Ministry could have imposed on Hogwarts. Dolores Umbridge.

Harry followed her eyes across the hall to the tiny, dark-haired woman that was dressed entirely in pink. He looked from her across to Dumbledore and then over to Minerva who was standing at his side, "Is that?"

"Yes." She cut him off with a whisper of her own. "You remember my letter?"

He nodded and Minerva looked across to Poppy. The mediwitch headed away from them towards her seat on the opposite side of the room. Minerva stepped forward and Harry followed in her wake as she made her way up to the head table. He noticed that there was an empty seat on the side of hers. Dumbledore inclined his head to Harry and the young man followed her up to his new spot at the table.

When they were both seated he leaned around in front of her to speak to the Headmaster. "Thank you Professor. For letting me stay and allowing me to sit at the Head table for now."

Dumbledore inclined his head to Harry in acknowledgement, but he neither looked at him nor spoke directly to him. Something that both Harry and Minerva found rather strange, for he was usually very warm towards Harry. The pair exchanged a brief but nervous look before they turned to their breakfast. Both of them quite a good deal hungrier than they had been the previous day.

"Ahem ahem." There was a soft, and yet ominous cough from the far end of the table. Many of the teachers had accepted Harry among them with no questions, but it didn't seem that Umbridge was going to make it without a comment. Even Snape was looking at her like she had lost her mind.

When no one responded to her she coughed again. "Ahem ahem."

Dumbledore leaned forward so that he could see down the table. "Is there something that you needed Dolores?"

"Yes." Harry hated her voice even more when she spoke real words. To his side he saw Minerva roll her eyes. "I was wondering as to why Mr. Potter is here, and why he is sitting up here with the staff?"

"Mr. Potter is here because he was in a dangerous situation that required aftercare and Madam Pomfrey has been looking after him."

"But then why is he not seated with her? Why is he seated so close to you Headmaster?"

Harry was doing his absolute best not to comment on anything that was happening, but it was killing him a little bit. He chanced another look at Minerva, but her eyes were closed, as if she was dreading what Dumbledore was going to say. His gaze was torn away when the Headmaster answered the woman.

"Harry is seated next to his Head of House. I'm sure you can see why that would be the best position for him when he must sit among people he only knows as his teachers. At least they have something in common."

Harry saw Minerva casually slide her hand from the table and hide it in the folds of her robes. They had more in common than even Dumbledore thought.

"Hmm. Well. I will certainly be writing to Cornelius about this. It is a rather intriguing situation Dumbledore."

He merely nodded and turned back to his plate, never once looking at Harry or Minerva. When he swept out of the Great Hall a few minutes later people started to follow suit. Soon they were sitting alone along the middle of the table, the rest of those left far enough away that if they whispered they would not be overheard.

"She's going to be fun." He glanced at her as he grabbed another piece of toast.

"She lives in the Minister's pocket. I want you to remember what I told you. Try and behave yourself Harry." She looked across at him with her stern face. Showing him that she could still very much be the teacher he remembered, even if he got to see past the mask.

"I'll try Professor, but I can't make any promises." He grinned and she shook her head as they watched Umbridge walk out of the Hall. "She really is something."

"Dolores Jane Umbridge." She smirked at him. "A nightmare dressed all in pink."


	7. Chapter 7-Mo Loach, Mo Bhanrígh

**Hey Lovelies! So this one has some Gaelic in it. Minerva is Scottish, so how can I resist not throwing in some of the language. She's brilliant, I'm sure that she speaks it! There is a list of words that you may not know at the end of the chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 7 – Mo Laoch, Mo Bhanrígh

Oh and what a nightmare she was. Dolores Umbridge was not making things easy on the rest of the castle's inhabitants. No one was really sure why she had decided that she needed to be there so early; there were still two weeks until the start of the term. She was bustling around, in and out of other teachers classrooms asking nonsense questions and then leaving muttering under her breath.

Harry suppressed a chuckle as he sat down beside McGonagall that night at dinner. They had spent the majority of the day apart from one another. It seemed that as long as they were within a relatively close proximity to each other then there were no lingering side effects of the bonding experience.

Minerva had spent the day locked in her office, which was sealed by a portrait in her classroom that wouldn't allow anyone in without a password. Luckily for her, Umbridge didn't have it. Harry had spent the day in the library. Finishing up on all of the homework that he had put off until the last minute. He had been hoping to have Hermione's help, but now he was left on his own. Again.

He looked over at the woman that had suddenly become more than simply his professor. He still wasn't sure what their relationship was going to be, but he didn't think that small talk could hurt. "Good evening professor."

He smiled at her as he slipped in beside her. "Good evening Mr. Potter. How was your day?"

"Fine," He started piling food on his plate, "and yours?"

"Productive." She looked down the table to where Umbridge was just taking her seat and dropped her voice to a whisper. "I locked myself in my office for the majority of the day. It seems Dolores was pestering some of the other professors and I didn't think that I would be able to keep my mouth shut today. It's been a stressful forty-eight hours and I have a feeling that dealing with that woman is only going to make it worse."

She was doing her best to try and not bad mouth the woman, but she found that she didn't much care what she said to Harry, she knew, somehow, that he would keep her secrets for her. Harry nodded, understanding how the Ministry witch could cause an extra amount of stress for the others, and most definitely for Minerva and him self.

"Don't you think she's going to notice if you lock her out of your office everyday?" He smirked at her when she shot him a dirty look. "Come on." He nudged her shoulder gently, seeming to find him self more and more comfortable around her every time they were together. "You know she's going to corner you eventually."

"I'll have you remember Mr. Potter, that cats don't take kindly to being backed into corners."

"Oh I'm afraid I'll know instantly when it happens." He smiled at her, but she looked confused.

"What do you mean?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"You can't feel it?" He turned to look at her.

"Feel what?"

He shook his head as he saw Dumbledore enter the hall and quickly he tried to think of anything other than the bond. The last thing he needed was Dumbledore reading his mind and finding out that the two of them were now connected. "We can talk about it later."

She nodded and they both continued to eat in silence as the Headmaster joined them at the table. He sat down to Minerva's right and greeted her quickly, before ignoring Harry entirely. Both Gryffindor's noticed, but decided that now wasn't the time to comment. Not with Umbridge once again staring them down.

Harry could feel the worry radiating off of Minerva as he set down his fork and sighed. "I'm going to go try and finish up some last minute homework." He was speaking in a normal tone of voice and there were few enough people in the Hall that his voice carried. "Professor?"

She looked over at him, "Yes Mr. Potter?"

"I have a question about my transfiguration essay, if you're finished would you mind clarifying something for me?"

She smiled inwardly at the grace with which he presented this obviously fictitious story. "Of course. If you would meet me in my office in say, twenty minutes, I'd be happy to help you."

"Thank you." He nodded his head to her out of respect as he stood and exited the hall, well aware of two sets of eyes boring into his back. One set a piercing, twinkling blue, and the other a dirty, mousy brown. Minerva's shining emerald ones locked on his own as he turned back over his shoulder one last time before disappearing up the steps.

* * *

Hermione flopped down in the oversized armchair in the library. She and Sirius had been looking for two days and they still hadn't been able to come up with an explanation as to what could be going on with Harry. She knew that Sirius knew more than he was letting her in on, but she couldn't blame him. She doubted that she would be telling him everything she knew either.

"What are you still doing in here Hermione?" Ron poked his head in the door, "Mum says that dinner is ready, and I know for a fact that you skipped lunch. You have to eat. Not eating is not going to make anything make any more sense."

She sighed, she knew that he was right, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she was close. That if she left the library now she may never find what she was looking for, but that if she stayed for one more minute maybe it would fall right into her lap.

She looked up at him with wide eyes, "I know. You're right; it's just that I can feel it. The answer is here, I just have to find it."

"Hermione if the answer is in this room, it will still be in this room once you have finished dinner." Ginny appeared beside Ron in the doorway. "You might as well come downstairs, before Mum has the twins come and drag you down there."

Hermione shook slightly at the thought of the twins coming to haul her downstairs to eat. She resigned herself to her fate and got up out of the chair. She followed the two youngest Weasley's out into the hall, but she paused at the door. Turning back one more time to look around the room. The answer was in here.

Sirius watched as Hermione followed the other two down the stairs and he quietly slipped into the library. He thought that he had it figured out, that he knew what was going on and he was sure that despite Harry's longstanding friendship with the girl, his godson wouldn't want her finding out from a book. That was, if he wanted her to find out at all.

He moved purposefully through the library, intent on taking only the one volume that he knew that Hermione couldn't get her hands on. He was shocked to see that the ladder was in exactly the right place on the wall. He climbed up and reached for the book he needed.

He sucked in a breath when he realized that the one beside it was missing. A glance over his shoulder confirmed that Hermione was on the right track. The book on Norse mythology that was supposed to be resting next to the one he was after, was lying on the end table with a bookmark sticking out of it. She had been so close.

He stepped off the ladder and looked down at the book in his hand, _Dìon Mionn._ The entire book was in Gaelic, but he had no doubts that Hermione would have found some way to read it had she known that this was indeed was she was looking for. "Kreacher."

The elf popped up at Sirius's elbow looking very reluctant to do so. "Yes Master?"

"Take this book up to my room, and tell no one of it." He thrust the book out towards the elf and left the library without so much as another word.

"Yes Master." Kreacher replied to Sirius's retreating form, and with a loud crack the dusty library was once again empty.

* * *

"What do you mean you don't have a minute Minerva? I thought that you were taking questions in your office after dinner?" Harry groaned upon hearing the squeaky voice. He knew that she was stressed; he could feel it growing stronger and stronger with every step that he took towards her office. Now he knew why.

"I'm afraid you thought wrong Dolores. You see I have an appointment just now. If you would like to make one tomorrow then I will set aside some time to see you." There was no mistaking that tone. Anyone that had gone to Hogwarts while Minerva McGonagall had been the Transfiguration teacher knew that tone. It implied that there was no room to argue, a fact that Umbridge seemed to miss.

"Minerva don't you think,"

"Excuse me Professors." Harry stepped into the corridor just then, effectively cutting off Umbridge's sentence. Harry looked at the small woman hard for a moment, before he stepped forward to put himself indirectly between her and Minerva. He didn't know why he had done it until he felt Minerva relax a little behind him. "I'm sorry Professor Umbridge, but I have an appointment to meet with Professor McGonagall, if you would excuse us?"

He took a gentle step towards Minerva and she took the hint, allowing him to follow her down the hall to a picture of Godric Gryffindor.

Harry looked over his shoulder and seeing that Umbridge had walked off in the other direction he turned back to the woman standing in front of him. "I thought your office was behind your classroom?"

She smiled, "It is." She turned to face the painting. "Good evening Godric."

"Good evening my dear." The painting smiled at her. "What can I do for you?"

"I would like you to allow Mr. Potter here entrance whenever he should ask for it." She smiled back at the man.

"Minerva?" He looked confused, "That is unheard of!"

"Not anymore, and I wish that you refrain from telling anyone that he has permission to be in here. Can you do that?"

The man in the painting nodded.

"I mean anyone Godric. Not even Albus." She fixed him with her stern teaching glare and it seemed that even one of the great founders of the school was not immune.

"Of course my dear." The painting turned to Harry. "Mr. Potter." He bowed his head. "Welcome." The painting swung forward and revealed a doorway that Harry was surprised to see magically expanded to the floor so that you didn't have to crawl through.

Without a word Harry followed Minerva through the door, which magically closed behind him. "Where are we?" He looked around himself, at the cozy living room to his left and the short hall that spread before him. There were a few doors that led off of it to each side.

"These are my private quarters Harry. You can understand why it would be odd for me to allow a student in here at all. Let alone whenever you should ask for it."

He nodded as he refocused his attention on her. She was pulling her outer robe over her head, leaving her in a pair of casual black slacks and a silk, crimson blouse. Oddly muggle clothes Harry thought as he studied her. "You wanted to talk to me?"

Her voice called him back to reality. He noticed that upon shedding her robes she had shed her glamor spell. She appeared before him as her current, natural self and he was surprised to see that she was still changing. Even from when he had seen her in the kitchen at Grimmauld two days ago her appearance had changed. The rate was much less drastic, and she still appeared to be in her mid-thirties, but things were most definitely still shifting.

"Um, yeah." He shook his head to clear his thoughts for a moment before he refocused on her. "I started to mention it at dinner before we weren't alone anymore, but I feel as if I can feel the things you are feeling."

"Really?" Her curiosity peaked, and Harry laughed.

"Yeah, it's a learning process, so I'm sure that it will be more precise as we continue to feel this thing out, but I just felt your emotions change. Some of your worry seemed to slip away and it was replaced by something else. Something more," he paused trying to come up with the right word for how she was feeling, "pleasant."

She smiled at him, "It was curiosity. I wonder why I can't feel you?"

He shook his head, "I don't know, maybe it's a one way bond? I could feel your ribs, and now your emotions, maybe I can only feel you?"

She seemed to panic, "I hope not! I want you to get something out of this bond too! I don't want you to have to deal with everything that I go through along with your own life. Harry you're fifteen! I couldn't put that on you."

"Hey," instinctively he reached out and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close to him. He smiled when he felt her relax, "Hey, none of this is your fault, you didn't ask for this bond, you didn't force it on us." He pulled back and looked her in the eye, glad that they were the same height now. "I am getting something out of this. You cared enough to jump in front of that dementor for me, I didn't know there was anyone in this world that would care enough to risk their life so directly for mine."

There were tears in Minerva's eyes and she was doing her best not to let them fall. "I may be fifteen, but I think that like you, I'm changing. At a slower pace, and not necessarily physically, but I'm changing. Maturing, because of this bond. I don't regret it, any of it. And I hope that you don't either."

"Harry," one of the tears did manage to sneak its way down her cheek and he brushed it away with his thumb, "I didn't mean to make you think that I regretted my decision, I don't. This is just an adjustment, an initial phase that we are going to have to work through." She smiled, "Thank you for saving me from Umbridge."

"Of course. Anyone would have saved you from her though. I don't think a soul in this place really likes her."

Minerva chuckled. "Probably not."

He let her go and looked over her shoulder to the small clock on the mantle. "I should probably head up to the tower, I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be an equally long day." Minerva bit her bottom lip, and he paused. "What's the matter?" He could feel her unease as it leaked into him.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep with you in the tower."

"Oh?" He tried out the strength of the bond and flexed it out towards her. She was right, neither one of them would sleep properly if they were separated from the other. Not yet anyway. "Okay, well then I guess…"

He didn't really know what she was expecting him to do next. "Would you mind terribly sleeping in here with me tonight? We can try to sleep further and further apart as the time comes?"

He nodded and she took his hand, leading him further into her apartment. When they were settled together for the night she turned out the light and he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry that I am causing you so much trouble mo loach." She smiled and curled into his side.

Harry didn't know where the words came from, but as he felt her drifting off beside him they felt right. "You are no trouble at all mo bhanrígh."

* * *

 **Okay so our words are:**

 **Mo Loach = My Warrior**

 **Mo Bhanrígh = My Queen**

 **Dìon Mionn = Protection Oath**


	8. Chapter 8-House Elves, Powerful Minds,

**Hey Lovelies! I'm so sorry it's been a full week and I never go that long between posts! Life got a little crazy there for a few days! Anyway, I noticed that I had Minerva's age wrong throughout the chapters, I had accidentally made her older than she was supposed to be, so those little details have changed. This one has some more Scottish in it, and so there will be a little Glossary of sorts at the end again. I hope you all Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 8 – House Elves, Powerful Minds and Secret Letters

For the third day in a row Harry opened his eyes not knowing where he was, and least until he looked down. Minerva was asleep in his arms, just like the morning before, and he relaxed. He was in her private quarters in the castle, no one would discover them here, and he had no reason to worry.

He flexed the bond towards her, it felt almost tangible in his mind, and he let it drift over the sleeping woman. He could feel the peace that sleep brought over shadowing the worry and the doubt that had plagued her the night before. Harry still wasn't sure that he had made the best call in sharing a bed with her, but he had known then that it was what they both needed.

Just being close to one another was enough for them to share the strength that they were both relying on to get through the next two weeks. Harry sighed they were going to be a long two weeks if yesterday was anything to go by. He didn't think that he could detest someone as much as he did Snape, but Umbridge was starting to cause him to rethink that.

He lay quietly looking around the room. She had only lit one candle last night, and now in the morning light he could really see her room. It was full of rich, warm colors, the fiery crimson of Gryffindor and the deep green of her Scottish roots. He felt her breathing change and he looked down at her. "Good morning."

"Good morning mo laoch."

He smiled at her, "You called me that last night too. What does it mean?"

"It's Scottish,"

"Well I figured that much." She rolled her eyes at his interruption, but kept talking.

"It means My Warrior." Her cheeks flushed a fraction as she told him what her words meant. "I'm not really sure why I'm calling you that but it feels right."

"That's what I thought." She looked confused, and he continued. "As you were falling asleep last night right after you had called me that I called you mo bhanrígh."

She sucked in a tiny breath, "You did?"

"Yeah. I have no idea what that means, but the words just came tumbling out of my mouth and they felt right. Why? What does mo bhanrígh mean?"

She put her hand on his chest and pushed herself up so that she was sitting next to him, looking down at him on the bed. "It means My Queen."

"My Queen?" He pushed himself up to sit beside her and he studied the blush on her cheeks. "Well alright then. How did I know to say that though? How did I know how to respond to you?"

She shrugged, "I have no idea. Maybe the same way you can read my emotions and feel my pain." She looked over at the clock on the table. "We slept through breakfast, I can have an elf bring something up if you're hungry. I don't think I've ever slept in this late." She shook her head at herself as she climbed out of the bed.

"Don't worry about breakfast, I'll get it. You can go ahead with whatever you normally do in the mornings. I'm going to have to find my clothes anyway."

She turned to look at him from her bathroom door. "Your things are still in the hospital wing I believe. Hold on. Dobby?" She called out and the elf appeared in front of her.

"Hello Mistress McGongall. What can Dobby be doing for you this morning?"

Harry shook his head at the elf; he had on one of the most absurd outfits Harry had ever seen. Complete with two mismatch socks.

"Can you go and get Harry's things from the hospital wing and bring them here for me, and after that would you mind bringing up something for us to eat, we seemed to have missed breakfast?"

Dobby tilted his head to one side and looked up at her. "Bring Harry's things?" She pointed behind the elf to where Harry was still sitting on her bed. "Oh!" The little elf bounded over and stopped short in front of Harry, bowing. "Master Harry Potter. Dobby did not know you were here sir. Dobby thought that Harry Potter was in the hospital wing."

"No, but all my stuff is. Can you get it, and then we can move it to Gryffindor tower again later?"

"Of course." With a loud crack the elf disappeared and Harry looked up to Minerva. She was shaking her head at the spot where the elf had just disappeared.

"I figure that we can trust him not to say anything. He seems to like you too much to betray you to anyone."

"Yeah." Harry thought about all of the things that the elf had tried to do for him over the years. "His heart's in the right place, it's just that sometimes he can be a little, extreme, in his methods."

"Ah." She nodded, "I have an elf that is rather like that myself. He can be a little overprotective of me at times, and I have a feeling that he is not going to take as kindly to this arrangement as Dobby."

"Is he here in the castle?"

"No, not yet anyway. He will remain at my home until the start of term, and then he will be here. If this bond really connects us as deeply as we believe, he will have to obey you as well."

"Really?" Harry's eyes went wide. Besides Dobby, who wasn't really his to command, he'd never had a house elf take orders from him before. "What's his name?"

"Corkin." There was a crack and Harry's trunk appeared at the end of the bed. "Thank you Dobby." She nodded to the elf and he beamed at her.

"Of course Ma'am I will be getting you both some breakfast now. What would you like?" He looked back and forth between them.

"Whatever you all have left from the Great Hall this morning is fine." He looked at Harry who nodded. Whatever Minerva asked for was fine by him. Dobby nodded once and bowed again before disappearing with another sharp crack. When Harry looked up he was alone in the bedroom and the bathroom door had closed behind her.

By the time she emerged from the bathroom, dressed in her normal, everyday robes, though her hair was still loose and she hadn't applied a glamor, Harry was already eating the breakfast that Dobby had brought up for them. "I see you started without me." She chuckled at the embarrassed look on his face. "I'm kidding, it's fine I didn't expect you to wait."

"From now on I will wait. I won't eat before you again, it was rude." His response shocked her and it took a moment for her to respond.

"Harry, I was joking. I don't mind that you started without me. I wouldn't want it to have gotten cold."

He smirked. "Then I guess you will have to get to the table faster from now on."

She brandished her spoon at him across the table. "Yer a chancer Mr. Potter."

"No ah umnae." He responded without missing a beat and they both froze. He met her eyes across the table and he was sure that his own were just as wide. "I don't speak Scottish…"

"It seems you do now." She looked at him. "Do you know what you said this time?"

"Tha." She smirked at him, and he groaned. "I did it again didn't I?"

"You did. I wonder what else you know now? Can you access everything in my head?" They locked eyes again and he tried to see what she was thinking, but he could only feel her emotions.

He shook his head. "I can feel your feelings, but I can't read your thoughts. There is a barrier there."

"What about now?" She tried to think about the bond, and then think directly at him.

"Wow." He jerked back a little, "Yeah. I got that. How did you do that?"

"I'm not sure. I just thought at you."

"Thought at me?" He chuckled.

"Well what else should I call it?" She laughed along with him. "Can you imagine us trying to explain this to someone else?"

"Not yet." He studied her across the table. "Before when you asked me to try and get in your head, you were purposefully blocking me weren't you?"

"Yes, I was. It's called Occlumency and it is a very complex branch of magic. I'm not very good at it, but I thought I'd try. I imagine with time, I won't be able to keep you out."

"Don't worry, I won't poke around in your head. I'm going to try my best to stay out of it." He closed his eyes for a second before he moved on. "Last night you said that you hoped I was getting something out of this bond?" She nodded and he kept going. "Before the dementors I was having nightmares. Memories, of the graveyard, of seeing Cedric die, of watching him come back."

"Harry!" She looked like she wanted to comfort him, but wasn't quite sure how. He could feel the conflicting emotions as they washed through her. "Why didn't you say anything? You could have written me, or Sirius, or Albus, or Molly. Anyone would have tried to help you."

"I would have, but I hadn't heard from anyone all summer. I wasn't getting any letters and Hedwig was locked in her cage. I couldn't magic her out, it's against the rules."

Her attention had been distracted before that. "You weren't getting any letters? Sirius, Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley? They weren't writing you?"

"If they were I wasn't getting them." The thought of no one writing to him was troubling her. She would have to talk to Sirius, things weren't quite adding up. She tried to focus though because he was still talking. "Anyway. For the last three nights I haven't had a nightmare. I thought after the first night that it was exhaustion. That maybe I was too tired to dream, but now I think that it's you."

"What do you mean?"

"I think that the bond is cancelling out my nightmares. Like somehow it's not letting them get into my head because my head is already full of you and your emotions are intermixed with mine. I can't have nightmares, because I have to protect you."

"Harry…" Minerva looked as though she wasn't sure that she wanted to be the reason that he wasn't dreaming.

"Hey." He reached across the table and grabbed her hand. "I don't miss those dreams one bit, and if losing them really is because of you, then it's one more thing I have to thank you for."

She smiled at him and pulled her hand away to finish eating. "Are you planning on going back to the library today?"

"Yeah. Are you planning on locking yourself in your office?" She tried to hide her smile, but her eyes betrayed her. "You know she's going to figure out that you are avoiding her right?"

"I'm aware."

"And what are you going to do when she confronts you about it?"

"Hope that there is someone around to rescue me."

"Don't worry. I will be." He stood and lifted her unoccupied hand to his lips. "I'll see you at lunch."

"Beannachd leat."

"Sealbh math dhuit!" He winked at her and disappeared out the door.

She sighed and with a wave of her wand sent the remains of their breakfast back down to the kitchen. "Good luck indeed." She mumbled under her breath as she pulled a piece of parchment and a quill out of her desk. With a final look towards the door that Harry had left through she set about drafting her first letter of the day.

 _Sirius,_

* * *

Sirius sat alone in his bedroom in Grimmauld Place. Everyone else was working on cleaning some room, the parlor he thought maybe, and he was hiding away up here. He was sure that Hermione had noticed the book missing from the library. She had started to ask him about it this morning at breakfast, but thankfully Tonks had knocked into something and everyone had been distracted.

He wasn't ready to answer her questions yet. He wanted to find some answers to his own first. He looked down at the things scattered around him on the floor. The Scottish volume, _Dìon Mionn,_ was lying open on his lap and a book of translation spells was next to his leg.

If he was right, if what he had seen between Harry and Minerva really was like the book described he didn't know if he should be scared, or awed by them. True, it was incredible magic, they both had to have been very strong, but it was also incredibly dangerous. Bonds were no little things anyway, and bonds during wartime, those could only be even more complicated.

A sharp tapping on the window pulled him out of his thoughts. A large, grey owl was sitting on his windowsill. Carefully he slid the window open and allowed the creature to perch inside. "What have you got boy?"

He took the letter from the bird's beak gentle and flipped it over. The same handwriting that had been on Harry's letter yesterday, the same handwriting that he had copied from a chalkboard for seven years. Minerva.

 _Sirius,_

 _Something has happened, and you being you I'm sure have figured that out by now. Harry is here, and he's safe, or as safe as any of us can really be. He doesn't know that I am writing this to you, and for now I would like it to stay that way. When the time comes I will tell him._

 _He confided in me this morning that over the summer he didn't receive any letters, or such. You said that he responded to your birthday card, so I'm sure he meant other than that. I'm concerned about this, did you not write him, and did Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley not write?_

 _Please tell me that you were all so busy that you had simply forgotten? Please tell me that there is not something else going on here? If indeed you did write to him, I need to talk to you. Alone. Today. I cannot leave Hogwarts, not while Harry is here and that new Umbridge woman is lurking about. (I'll explain when I talk to you.)_

 _Albus has a meeting at the Ministry at 2. If you can pop through the Floo to my office, I will secure it so no one will know that you are here. Sirius, don't tell anyone you are coming. There are things at play here that need to be kept quiet._

 _I'm Trusting You,_

 _Minerva_

Sirius looked up from the letter to the clock on his bedside table. It was already noon. He shrank the book he was looking at and stuffed it in his pocket before he clambered up off of the floor and yanked open the top drawer of his dresser. He fished around until he pulled out a black cigarette lighter. Holding the letter by the very bottom corner he let the parchment catch the flames.

She was trusting him, and he was respecting her wishes. There would be no evidence of their meeting. No one would know where he had gone. If she wanted silence, then it was silence she would have.

* * *

 _ **Dìon Mionn =**_ **Protection Oath**

 **Mo Bhanrígh = My Queen**

 **Mo Loach = My Warrior**

 **Yer a chancer = You're pushing your luck.**

 **No ah umnae. = No I'm not.**

 **Tha = Yes**

 **Beannachd leat = Goodbye**

 **Sealbh math dhuit = Good luck**


	9. Chapter 9-Cats and Dogs

**Hey Lovelies! So here is Chapter 9 and what better title for a chapter about Minerva and Sirius than Cats and Dogs? I hope you like it, let me know what you think! Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 9 – Cats and Dogs

Minerva was thrilled that she had successfully avoided Dolores all morning and she hadn't seen the woman in the Great Hall at lunch. She had been having a rather coded conversation with Albus when Harry had arrived and the Headmaster had all but shut down. He still wasn't speaking to or even hardly around Harry. It was something that she had noticed before, but she was willing to let it go. She was sure that he would tell her eventually.

She had chosen to have a late lunch, mainly to avoid any unwanted interaction with certain, other staff members, and so it was already one-thirty by the time she excused herself from the Head table and headed back to her office. Harry caught up with her in the hallway outside her classroom.

"Minerva!" She turned around at the sound of her name, a slightly aghast look on her face.

"Harry! I know that I told you to call me that, but what if someone hears you?" She looked all around them and then cocked her head to one side listening and Harry smirked.

"See, there was no one around to hear me."

She raised one eyebrow at him. "Except for the paintings. They do have ears you know?"

He nodded, "I know. They won't say anything though. I promise." He reached for her and his hand on her arm helped to take the edge off of some of her worry.

"If you say so." She fought the urge to roll her eyes at him. "Are you headed back to the library?"

"Yeah, I just have to grab something out of my trunk and then I'm going back. Are you locking yourself in your office again?" He shot her the cocky grin that he had inherited directly from his father.

"I was planning on it." She smiled, "Let's go." They made their way down the corridor and Godric swung forward on his hinges to let them into her quarters. She paused outside one of the doors leading off the hallway. "Good luck on the rest of your homework. What do you have left?"

"Potions…" He grumbled as he came back out of the bedroom, a rolled up piece of parchment in his hands. "Where does that door lead?"

She pushed it open and smiled when his eyes went wide. "Did you really think that my office was in no way connected to these rooms?"

"But the way the castle is built, that shouldn't be there." He shook his head, and stared into space as if he were trying to picture the layout of the floor in his mind. "That room shouldn't touch these at all."

"Magic." She smirked at him before she passed into her office, "Go finish your Potions essay young man."

"Yes mo bhanrígh."

She hid her smile behind the door as she gently closed it between them. He really was a charmer.

She warded off the main door to her office so that no one could get in that way, and she wasn't particularly worried about anyone besides Harry getting past Godric. She was sure that after their discussion the other night he wouldn't even allow Albus in her quarters without asking her first. She settled behind her desk and waited for Sirius, if her assumptions proved correct he would be here within the next five minutes.

The roar of the fire to her right caused her to look up from her paperwork. "Sirius." She smiled at him and stood from her desk. "Thank you for coming."

"You seemed a little upset in your letter this morning." He followed her direction to the two armchairs in front of the fire. "I wanted to make sure that everything was alright."

She waved her wand and the tea set that she had asked for only minutes earlier flew from her desk to the tiny coffee table. "That's not the only reason you're here though is it?" She knew the answer, but she wanted to hear him say it.

"No. It's not. I, I have some questions that I want to ask you." He looked over his shoulder towards the door.

"Don't worry, no one is getting in here. I made sure of that."

He nodded. "Well, you seemed awfully worried about Harry this morning, and I can't help but wonder,"

"Why the sudden concern?" She provided for him.

"Yeah." He waited for her to collect her thoughts before pushing her. "Well, Minerva? Why the sudden concern?"

She sighed, "When he said that this morning it made me worry, what if someone was tampering with Harry all summer? What if him not getting any of his mail was part of some larger plot? What if she,"

She was getting more and more angry and frustrated, and she didn't know where it was coming from.

* * *

Across the castle in the library Harry threw his quill down on the table. This was pointless. He was never going to finish this essay and he couldn't have cared less about the properties of the potion he was supposed to be analyzing. He didn't understand.

He had told Minerva that morning that no one had written to him, and he hadn't thought anything of it at the time, but now that he had seen her reaction he was worried. What if it was all connected? What if the dementors, and not receiving his mail, and the Prophet eating him alive, and Dumbledore not speaking to him, and the Ministry sending that Umbridge woman here, what if it was all connected?

No, Harry stop. He shook his head, trying to shake all of the thoughts out of his head, where were they coming from anyway? He hadn't thought that any of those things were connected, and even if they were, why would Dumbledore be involved? He stood and stretched his body out, hoping that a change in position would help to clear his head.

* * *

"Minerva, calm down!" Sirius watched as the witch in front of him became more and more frustrated.

"No Sirius, this is ridiculous, something is going on here, and we have to figure out what it is." She glared at him across the small space and he recoiled a little bit.

"McGonagall listen to me! There is more than one thing going on here! There is whatever was happening to Harry's letters, there's whatever this Ministry witch is doing in the school, and there's whatever in the hell is going on between you and my godson!"

Minerva gasped and her eyes went wide, but she recovered quickly. "You have no idea what you're talking about Sirius. Let that one go."

"I don't think I will." He reached in his pocket and pulled out the book that he had been trying to study all morning. "Something is going on between the two of you and you're going to tell me what it is! I saw the way the two of you were acting the other day; I saw the look in Harry's eyes when Poppy showed up at the house. You two have some serious explaining to do!"

"No we don't Sirius! I called you hear to talk about the letters. To talk about who could be trying to keep Harry away from all that is happening in the world." She looked down at the book he had thrown on the table, "Not to talk about things that you don't understand."

"Make me understand then!"

* * *

Harry could tell that something was wrong. Something was causing Minerva's emotions to go haywire. She was nervous, and upset and hostile, and then all of a sudden she was afraid. He didn't think. He didn't even stop to tell Madam Pince that he was leaving all of his things. He ran.

He tore off down the library corridor, and took the stairs two at a time on his way down to the Transfiguration corridor. He swung around the corner and into her classroom, only to remember that she had sealed this door.

The closer he got to her the more he could feel her and it felt as if she was going to explode. She was angry, yelling, panicking and he couldn't get to her. Godric! He swung back out of the room and up the hall. "I need in there!"

"She's in a meeting." The founder didn't seem to care that Harry was about to rip his own hair out.

"I know that! But she needs me! I need her! I have to get in there!" He took a deep breath and tried out his best impression of Minerva on the portrait. "She told you to let me in. I know how the magic in your painting works, now move aside."

There was an air to his voice that commanded respect and the painting seemed surprised at his show of force. "You really do care about her?"

"Of course I do! Now get out of my way." It was practically a growl and the portrait had no choice but to swing forward and allow him access. He flew through her apartment to the last door off the hallway. With a grand tug he wrenched it open causing Sirius to look away from the witch in front of him.

Harry didn't spare but a single glance for his godfather, he moved to stand directly between the two of them, facing Minerva. "Are you alright?"

She nodded, but he could tell that she wasn't. She was shaking, though he didn't know if it was anger or fear that was causing the tremors she was feeling so much of both.

He took ahold of her upper arms and let the contact regulate both of their emotions before he spoke again. "The truth this time mo bhanrígh. Are you alright?"

"Tha, mo loach. I'm okay. Your godfather and I were just having a little disagreement." She looked pointedly over his shoulder at Sirius, who was staring at them open-mouthed.

"A little disagreement?" He raised an eyebrow at her and grinned. "I could feel it all the way across the castle! You were more than a little upset."

"What the bloody hell is going on here?" Sirius was staring at the two of them. "It's true isn't it? What I saw in that book? You really are connected to each other now?" His temper was getting the best of him and he was starting to yell again.

Harry turned around to face his godfather, careful to make sure that he was blocking Minerva completely with his body. "Yes. It is true. But I won't let you yell at her for it. It wasn't her fault. If anything it was mine, so back off." He took a step towards the older man and Sirius's face blanked. He hadn't realized that Harry was actually committed to this. Harry took a deep breath and refocused on the conversation. "What are you doing here?"

Sirius nodded towards Minerva, "She asked me to come. She said she wanted to talk to me, and then I got here and she got upset and I started yelling, and things got a little crazy."

Harry faced Minerva, "You asked him to come?"

She nodded and smiled, "I was worried about you. You said that you weren't getting your letters over the summer, and I sent Sirius a letter. I'm worried that someone was trying to stop you from receiving any news from our world. That you were being kept in the dark on purpose."

"He was." They both turned to look at Sirius, who was staring back at them rather uncomfortably. He hadn't missed the fact that they had gravitated closer together without either one of them realizing what they were doing.

"What?" She snapped. "What are you talking about?"

"He was being kept in the dark. On purpose."

Harry was confused, and angry, and his own emotions were mixing with Minerva's as the both of them became more and more upset. "Who would want to keep me in the dark enough that they stopped my letters?"

"The Ministry?" Minerva looked hesitant.

"No." Both sets of emerald eyes peered at him as he shook his head. "It wasn't the Ministry. It was Dumbledore."

"What?!" Harry's fingers just missed her arm as she stepped forwards.

* * *

 **Tha = Yes**

 **Mo Bhanrígh = My Queen**

 **Mo Loach = My Warrior**


	10. Chapter 10-Heated Discussions

Chapter 10 – Heated Discussions

Harry's fingers just missed her arm, but he stepped up behind her and trapped her waist in his arm before she could get any closer to Sirius. He could feel her emotions going haywire under the surface and he wasn't sure if she could feel the calm notions he was projecting towards her or not.

After a moment of initial resistance she relaxed under his arm and he let her go. Her eyes were still trained on Sirius. "What do you mean it was Dumbledore? What did Albus do?"

Sirius had taken a few steps backward from the ferocious witch as her magic had become almost tangible in the air. "He told us that we should tell Harry as little as possible. That we should provide him with the least amount of information that we could. He claimed that it was for his own safety."

"His safety?" She couldn't help but let out a short laugh. "Really? And now what do you think Sirius?"

"I think that there is more too it than that, but before we get into all of that I want to know what is actually going on between the two of you." She opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off sharply. "And don't you dare tell me to drop it again McGonagall!"

"Enough." Harry's voice cut through and he put a hand on Minerva's arm, helping to steady her once more. "Sirius, how much do you think you know?"

"Not much. The only resource I've found is that bloody book and it's not even in English." He pointed at the missive that he had left on the table.

Harry picked it up and flipped through it. " _Dìon Mionn,"_ he looked at Minerva and tried to find the words. "I don't know that one."

"Protection Oath…"

He nodded with a small smile, "Is this the same book that Poppy had?"

"No." She shook her head and took it from him, "It's not, but I think that we may be able to learn just as much from this one as we did from hers."

"Not much then…" he sighed. "There has to be something we can do."

"Right now all we can do is learn, and you need to calm down." She gave him a pointed look and tried to relax her own emotions so that they could find a stable balance.

His eyes shot up to meet hers when he realized what she had done. "You can feel me too?"

She smiled, "It would seem so, and right now I'm asking you to calm down. We are going to have to keep our heads about us and right now I'm not so sure that our emotions are up to that. We are going to have to work harder."

He touched her arm gently and held her gaze, "I'll try."

"That's all I can ask."

Sirius stood to the side, watching the entire exchange occur between the pair, and he couldn't quite believe what was happening. His normally over-emotional godson was leveling out, and settling down, and the typically controlled and collected Transfiguration mistress was edgy and heated. They were bleeding into one another, but at the same time they were stabilizing each other.

"Impossible…" They both turned to look at him. "You don't see it?"

"See what?" Harry looked puzzled.

"What happened between the two of you?"

"Old Magic. A Rite of Protection." Minerva took a deep breath before continuing. "I jumped between Harry and the dementor, and in the process he ended up saving my life. We are bound together," she moved to pull her hand away from Harry and he stopped her."

"Are you sure mo bhanrígh?"

"Tha mo loach, he needs to know." They held each other's gaze for a moment before Harry slowly released her hand. She shook her sleeve back to reveal the ring that rested on her fourth finger. "He saved my life, and now his protection is with me always."

Sirius took her hand in his and looked at the ring. "This connects you?"

"We're not sure. It is a physical representation of a patronus, it in itself is not real, it only looks and feels real." She shook her head. "I'm not making much sense, but the fact of the matter is that we don't know what's happening. We know that we can't be separated for long amounts of time, and we know now that we can feel and project emotions on one another. Other than that…"

"Do you have a plan? Do you know what you are going to do? Does Dumbledore know?"

"No!" They both answered him as one, and he looked shocked. Harry continued on, "We haven't told anyone except you, and Poppy. I don't want Dumbledore, or anyone else for that matter, to find out what's going on just yet. There are too many things we don't understand." He turned to look at the woman standing just beside him and she nodded.

"Please Sirius, we are asking you to keep our secret." Two sets of green eyes were pleading with him and he sighed and nodded.

"Okay, but you need to know that Hermione is doing everything in her power to figure out what is going on. The only reason she hasn't already figured it out is because I got to that book first."

A slightly panicked expression graced Minerva's features for just a moment, but Harry reassured her. "It's okay. Even if she does figure it out, she won't tell anyone else without talking to us first."

"Even Albus?"

Her question gave Harry pause, but after a moment he nodded. "Even Dumbledore. She'll question me first. We will have to decide then whether or not we are going to entrust her with our secret."

"Right now I say as few people that know as possible."

"I agree." Sirius cut in. "This is too powerful, too unprecedented not to draw attention, and it being the two of you only makes it that much more of an ordeal. You are two of the most talked about people in wizarding Britain anyway, you don't need any more people trying to get at you."

At Sirius's words Harry's faced paled. "Get at you…" He repeated quietly and his eyes met Minerva's emerald ones.

"Harry don't. Don't think like that," he raised an eyebrow at her, but she shook her head, "I can't read your mind, but I don't have to to know what you're thinking. You have not put me in anymore danger than I was already in. If nobody knows then nothing is going to happen to me."

"But what if something happens to me, and you end up hurt too? I can't hurt you, I'm supposed to be protecting you!"

"Harry," she cupped his cheek in her hand, "I'm safe, nothing is going to hurt either one of us while we are here. The bond is blocking him out right? You said you weren't having anymore dreams with him in your head?"

"Yeah."

"You were dreaming about Voldemort?" Sirius looked worried.

"More like he was sending me dreams, he was controlling them." Harry shook his head. "I haven't had one since this happened."

"And you think…"

"Yeah. I think I'm not the only one doing the protecting." He looked over at her and she smiled. "You are protecting me just as much as I'm protecting you mo bhanrígh."

"You've said that twice now." Sirius was looking back and forth between them, "What does it mean?"

A slight flush colored Minerva's pale cheeks, "It's Gaelic. It's a term of endearment." Sirius quirked an eyebrow at her, but she shook her head, she wasn't telling him anymore than that. "If you want to know what it means you are going to have to find out for yourself Black, I'm not telling you."

He laughed. "Is the great Minerva McGonagall embarrassed?" He looked from her to Harry, "She called you something too Pup, what was it?"

"Mo loach. It's a complement to what I called her, but she's right I'm not telling you. It's not really any of your business."

At that Sirius stiffened. "It damn well is my business, you're my godson!"

Harry shook his head, "Soul Bond trumps godson. She gets the secrets on this one Sirius."

"Fine…" He shook his head and headed for the grate. "Watch out for Dumbledore, there is something going on there, and don't send anymore letters unless they are done by house elf. Birds can be intercepted." His eyes peered into Minerva's for a moment, and then he switched to Harry. "Take care of yourself, and be safe Pup. Things are changing around here."

He disappeared in a furry of green flames and he missed Harry's response of, "Are they ever."

* * *

Minerva made her way up the corridor towards the griffin that was guarding Albus's staircase. "Fawkes." The griffin immediately stepped to the side and she stepped onto the spiraling staircase.

Just as she raised her hand to knock on the door there was a call from the other side. "Come in Minerva."

Her eyes fell shut and she took a deep breath. She and Harry had discussed in detail what all they wanted to find out from Albus, and she knew that more than likely this was her last shot before the school year started, two weeks tend to fly by really fast come late August.

"Good evening Albus." She smiled at him as she pushed the door open. "How are you?"

"Fine, fine." He returned her smile and gestured to one of the chairs in front of his desk. "May I offer you something to drink?"

"No, thank you, I'm fine."

"What is it that you would like to discuss my dear, there is something on your mind?" His blue eyes were sparkling over his half moon spectacles and in that moment she was annoyed by it.

"Get out of my head." She thought with a small smile. She had left Harry in her rooms reading and she wasn't sure if she was annoyed with Albus's eyes or if Harry was annoyed at his book. Either way she knew that they both needed to stay calm. She spoke out loud to the man sitting across from her. "I spoke to Sirius today."

"Oh?" He was collected, his features giving nothing away, but thanks to her Animagus traits she could smell the nervousness creeping into his system with her every word.

"Yes. Harry mentioned something about being relatively out of contact with everyone for most of the summer and I inquired to Sirius as to why that might have been, and he informed me that I needed to speak with you." She raised an eyebrow at him over her own pair of spectacles. "What are you not telling me Albus?"

"I assure you nothing much my dear."

"Then why was I not informed that you cut off all correspondence with Harry that had any mention of the Order, or what was being done to try and find out any information on Voldemort?" Her voice was rising as she spoke and she took a deep breath to steady herself. "You have got to stop making unilateral decisions when it comes to Harry Albus you have no right to dictate his life."

"I never claimed I did. I am merely trying to do what I think is best for him."

"By completely shutting him out? Albus the boy went through the trauma of watching Voldemort return, he carried a dead student away from the scene in his arms, you thought it best to leave him alone with those muggles that I still can't believe are Lily's family?"

"Yes I did. I was only doing what was best for Harry." He was calm, even faced with her rising temper.

"Then why Albus, did I end up having to save him from two dementors in the middle of that muggle neighborhood? How is getting attacked walking home from a park what was best for him?"

"But he is fine, you were there to save him."

She closed her eyes briefly for a moment, and then refocused on him. Harry wasn't the only one that had been saved, but Albus didn't get to know that. "What if I wouldn't have been?" She snapped. "What if it wasn't me? What if it was somebody with less experience, somebody with slower reflexes? What then Albus?"

She stood from her chair and proceeded to head back the way she had come. When she reached the door she looked back over her shoulder. "Shutting Harry out was the wrong decision Albus, and so was letting Umbridge in."

-HIATUS-


End file.
